May 2009
Announcements
The Point2 Road Crew will be packing up and heading to Washington, D.C. for NAR Midyear from May 12-15. If you plan on attending this event, feel free to drop in on us.
Point2 is proud to be a sponsor for the upcoming REBarCamp in Charlotte. This event is being held on May 15th, with fun events planned before and after the BarCamp sessions. Some of our most avid Point2-supporters are from that area and we are more than pleased to be able to support such an interchange of learning, sharing, and networking.
Check out a quick update of some of the other events Point2 has attended and supported in the past few months below.
For the most up-to-date announcements about Point2 Agent, technology and other industry news, check out the Point2 Agent Blog.
Featured Site
www.puntacanalife.com
This month's Featured Site comes to us from Dominican Republic - showcasing tropical real estate with a clean design, lots of custom work, graphics and information for consumers.
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Featured Listing
This Phoenix-area listing is highlighted beautifully with 36 listing photos, detailed property description, and even more detailed individual room descriptions.
This listing was created while the member was using the 14-day Professional Trial, thus allowing for additional photos.
Listing Agent: Laura Boyajian, DPR Realty, LLC
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Featured Neighborhood
Clayton Park West, Halifax, Nova Scotia
The neighborhood of Clayton Park West is featured nicely by using photos of the area. The abundance of important local information, pertinent links, and area statistics effectively demonstrate that Tanya Boutilier is truly this neighborhood's expert.
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Featured Blog
www.point2agenteducation.com
We've chosen to feature the Point2 Agent Education Team blog this month to give you all an example of what makes a good customized blog. Not only does the blog look great, it also contains a ton of educational posts in a light, digestible format that readers can look to for assistance and ideas.
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Point2 Out and About
AFIRE: Awesome Females in Real Estate
 The 3rd Annual Awesome Females in Real Estate (aka AFIRE) Conference was held on March 25-27 in Savannah, Georgia. This intimate, informative and fun-packed three day event provided the opportunity for women leaders in the real estate industry to come together for the learning and sharing of ideas and proven successes, networking, and personal growth and development.
Point2's Syndication Account Manager, Jennifer Anderson was privileged to attend this year's event.
The theme of the event was "Navigating from Chaos to Opportunity" and focused on channeling personal experiences, as well as the changes within the industry, to empower dynamic growth. Key experts were able to share information on everything from personal and team growth, technological advances and trends, and socio-economic initiatives.
The 4th Annual AFIRE event is scheduled to take place in Scottsdale, AZ and is sure to be even more action packed. Watch for details at http://www.realestatecoach.com/AFIRE.
RETS Spring 2009 Conference
 Point2 has been involved directly with Real Estate Transaction Standards (RETS) development by participating in the RETS Syndication Workgroup devoted to 'creating a standardized listing data and transport specification that makes it easy for brokers to syndicate their listings to multiple sites'.
Being involved with this RETS Syndication Workgroup means our representatives from Point2 attend RETS meetings. Recently, our team members Zach Scott, James Townley, and Adnan Fida attended the RESO/RETS Spring 2009 Conference held in Washington, D.C., on April 6-8.
Our continued participation in the RETS Syndication Workgroup and attending conferences like this helps us identify the needs and work towards ensuring that we can serve those needs in the best way possible for our members.
Curious about how RETS affects you? Read more.
For more details about RETS Conferences, visit www.RETS.org.
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Exposure Engine™ News
HotPads.com Featured Listings Now Just a Click Away
With an innovative user interface and dynamic content, HotPads is widely recognized as an industry leader in the housing market. With over 300,000 unique rental listings and 3,000,000 for sale listings, and now vacation rentals, HotPads has quickly become one of the largest real estate portals on the internet. But with so many high quality listings on HotPads, housing providers have been looking for new ways to make their listings stand out.
Through the Point2 Exposure Engine™, Point2 Agent members within the United States have access to free syndication to HotPads.com. Now HotPads Featured Listings are promoted above all other listings on the site, meaning housing shoppers will see Featured Listings first. Featured Listings are also highlighted in two ways to ensure that your property stands out from the crowd -
- Bold Featured Box - an eye-catching box in the upper right corner of the map screen displays the property name and photo.
- Huge, Contrasting Icon - the regular property icon is replaced with a pulsing icon that will immediately stand out from the surrounding listings.
You can find more information about the pricing plan and the rest of the details at HotPads.com.
To purchase your HotPads Featured Listing:
- Login to your Point2 Agent website
- Go to Manage Listings
- Select the Syndicate link from beside the listing you wish to feature
- Choose the bright red HotPads Featured Listing link from within the HotPads syndication description and follow the easy steps at HotPads.com
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A Warm Welcome From Point2 Agent
4 New MLSs & Associations Join Point2 Network
Point2 is pleased to announce and extend a warm welcome to the following new MLSs & Associations, and their members:
- Lexington Bluegrass Association of Realtors
- Lexington, Buena Vista, Rockbridge Association of Realtors
- MLSListings, Inc.
- Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors
We look forward to welcoming even more in the coming months!
For more information about how Point2 works with MLSs and Associations visit our website here.
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Keep It Together
Effectively Controlling Application Overload
Do you ever find yourself struggling to find enough time in a day to accomplish everything? Perhaps you feel like you can keep up with what you currently know, but you feel like you are falling behind on what's new.
If you feel this way, you're not alone. I know I do. I would wager a guess that almost everyone does at some point, in any field of work.
The other day I was talking with a co-worker about how difficult it can be at times to 'keep up'. We work for a software development company. It's almost a given that we should be hip to the newest tech gadgets, gizmos, and applications.
How does one keep up with what is new and how do we know which of the newest of the new is going to be something we can actually make use of, benefit from, and even help us save or make money? Because, let's face it, no matter what the economic situation is, we could always use a bit more money in our pockets.
We considered some practical ways that we can manage our daily lives to prevent information and application overload. Read and join in the discussion over on the Point2 Agent blog.
by Megan Lust, Content Developer
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AMP Spotlight
Cogent Web Services
This month's AMP Spotlight falls upon a new member of the AMP community: Cogent Web Services.
 Headed by Nelson Cuestra, Cogent Web Services' goal is to create Point2 Agent websites that look great, meet the goals of agents and brokers, and are affordable. Their services include custom headers, flash, interactive buttons, organic SEO, incorporating new content or streamlining existing content, providing aesthetically pleasing designs, and including the 'wow' factor that will keep visitors coming back for more!
Check out their current portfolio, view testimonials, or view current website design packages.
Welcome to AMP, Nelson!
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Higher Learning from Point2 Education
Neighborhoods - Putting Them in the Prospects' "Ears" and "Eyes"
We've all heard the gem of a song "Penny Lane" by The Beatles. If not, definitely check it out, complete with a video that is characteristically 'Beatles': cheeky, odd, and fun.
In the song, you hear John Lennon and Paul McCartney (joined by George Harrison and Ringo Starr, of course) sing about Penny Lane, a street in Liverpool. There are unique types of people living, working, and playing on this street. The ebb and flow of people provide glimpses into varying lives, even some of them who are "very strange".
 This mixture of life, movement, and unique personalities contributes to create a persona that the street adopts. Penny Lane takes on a life of its own, becoming a neighborhood that contains particular shops, people, and feelings. It is memorable: "Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes" even when not on the street.
I once read a quote that stated "people may forget what you've said or what you've done, but they will never forget how you made them feel". Penny Lane has certain emotions associated to it by The Beatles. We all have places that we instantly associate with a particular feeling, mood, or image.
For places we've never been, though, we do not have this emotional reference and often rely on others to assist us in determining preliminary feelings towards the street or neighborhood.
I've never been to Penny Lane, but if I were to ever go to Liverpool, it would be at the top of my intinerary due to the feelings that "Penny Lane" has transferred to me from The Beatles.
How can you be like The Beatles on your real estate website? Read further on the Point2 Agent Education Team site.
by Tanya D. Spilchak, Education Coordinator
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The Buzz from the Point2 Community
BlackBerry Addicts Unite!
It's clear to us that our members love their smartphones - especially their BlackBerry. An interesting thread on the Point2 Agent Message Board has members discussing what they love about this specific smartphone and some of the cool features and apps they use.
Join in on the Message Board.
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Your Resources
As a Point2 member, there are a number of resources that are at your disposal at any given time:
 User Manual - contains textual instructions as to how to use, manage, and update components of your website and accompanying marketing aspects. Find it online at http://agent.point2.com/help
 Getting Started Guide - Not sure where to start? The new Getting Started Guide is a perfect way to get started with your Point2 Agent website immediately. Find it online under the Document Downloads area on www.Point2Agent.com or a direct link here.
 Training Videos - visually goes through the instructions and information that is found in the User Manual. Find the corresponding video on each page of the User Manual, or view the entire list
 Education Website - your source for everything educational. Locate educational articles, sign-up for live educational webinars, and access all Point2 Agent resources in one place. Find it online at http://www.point2agenteducation.com
 Message Board - ask questions, provide responses, review information from moderators and others in the Point2 community. Find the Message Board here.
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